


If It Comes Back

by flightinflame



Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Scott Summers, Depowered, M/M, Mentioned suicide threat, Mistaken Identity, Mutant Powers, Past Abuse, Road Trips, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:09:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27746515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: Logan turns his back on the school, setting out as a lone wolf. Until he meets a young man in need of help - a young man who looks painfully familiar.
Relationships: Logan (X-Men)/Scott Summers
Comments: 23
Kudos: 68
Collections: Marvel Reverse Big Bang 2020





	If It Comes Back

**Author's Note:**

> Art by the amazing [talkativefangirl13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/talkativefangirl13/pseuds/talkativefangirl13)  
>   
> Betaed by the amazing Menel, who is wonderful!

They said it was a victory. Logan looked down at Jeanie's grave, at Scott's beside her - knowing they were empty, that they were gone - and he knew that it wasn't a victory. The professor was dead, the woman he adored and the bastard he cared about - they were gone. This wasn't a victory; it was a disaster. The way fights always were - but then, that was what he was good for - he was a fighter. A killer. And the ones he loved ended up dead.

Storm said he could stay at the mansion. That this could be his home, like it was hers - as though this would ever feel like home again. Rogue... Marie... was happy now. And it hurt to leave her, but he'd seen enough. Scott and Jean's deaths just confirmed what he already knew - things he touched fell apart. He was a monster, not a man. 

It broke his heart, to say goodbye. He thought about sneaking out in the night - but he knew if he did that Marie would never stop looking for him. He owed them better.

"I'm going." He told Storm as he walked past her. She didn't argue. He thought she understood, even if she didn't want to say.

Marie argued. She screamed, and shouted, and he squeezed her shoulder, looking her in the eye. 

"You're gonna be okay without me, kid. I don't need to worry about you. I just... need to put some things behind me."

She looked at him, and for a moment he thought she'd keep yelling, but then she nodded and stepped aside. She held out his dog tags . "Keep 'em. Use them ta remember me."

He nodded, placing them around his neck, a solid anchor to who he was in case it was needed. And then he headed down to the garage. Scott's bike was there. Part of him wanted to take it, to keep that part of the other man with him, but he refused. He couldn't. Having it would just be a reminder, every single day, of all that he had lost. He couldn't face that.

So, he took a truck. It had space in the back for him to sleep in, and he told himself if he found another kid like Marie - well, he knew where he'd have to bring them. The closest to home that they'd get. It was a damn nice truck, as well - Chuck hadn't had anything that wasn't good. Even if he couldn't drive the truck, he had the money to ensure it ran well. Logan guessed Chuck wouldn't mind him helping himself - and if he did, he shouldn't'a died. 

He didn't care where he was going. All he knew was that he wanted to put as much distance between himself and the school as possible. Maybe that would put the ghosts that were chasing him to rest.

He'd killed Jean, and he'd been too late to save Scott. He was meant to be the best, but he'd failed the people he cared about. He'd found Jeanie beautiful, ever since he first opened his eyes and found her leaning over him, and he had hated Scott. Argued with him. Cared for him. And then Jeanie was gone, and it was just the two of them, and that care had been something more, something unspoken... and it had been too little too late. It hadn't pulled Scott back from the edge, and he'd left, driven by voices and then... 

Every time Logan closed his eyes, he saw the visor floating through the air. He could see Scott in his dreams, he and Jeanie both, and when he woke up, he was alone. He kept driving.

He was tempted to return to Alkali Lake. To put memories to rest. But he knew there would be nothing for him there, nothing but memories he didn't want to consider, and the knowledge that he was never going to be free of that place. His nightmares blurred - the sneering face of Stryker, Scott's smile, Jean's eyes as he killed her - and he woke panting, his claws embedded in the side of the truck.

He kept driving. Staying in one place, stopping, meant thinking. Meant allowing himself to be weak. Allowing himself to remember. He couldn't do that. So he drove on, and put the school behind him. He sent Marie a card once, because it had a cute picture of a skunk on it and he knew she'd glare if he gave it to her, and reassured her that he was doing alright. It was a lie, but she wouldn't know that. 

He parked out in the desert, among red rocks that had seen the sands shift, and he wondered if that was his fate. He howled up at the sky, terrified, animal, and no answer came. He screamed and swore and left his claw marks on the earth. And then he clambered back into the driver's seat, and he drove on, because his heart ached and he had nowhere to stay.

It was two months after he left the mansion when things changed. He was driving along a road late at night, beside a forest. He caught glimpses of the moon between the trees. It was late, and no one was around to hear how loud he had his stereo up. He liked that. He'd drive until he was exhausted, or out of gas , and then he'd rest for a bit. It helped to keep moving. To not let himself think. He hadn't spoken to anyone in six days, and he wondered if he was losing his mind.

His answer came when a familiar figure raced out into the lights of his truck. He slammed on the breaks, heart racing, claws threatening to break out as he gasped for breath, his entire body on high alert. 

For a second, he'd been convinced he'd seen Scott.

He caught his breath, trying to look around, and sniffed the air. There was someone alright. He got out from his truck, extending his claws, sniffing. A man. He smelt almost chemical, a mixture of chlorine and soap that didn't feel right out here, surrounded by nature. He walked around the truck, ready to stab whoever he found.

A young man was crouching in the shadow of his truck, wearing a t-shirt and shorts that weren't suited for this time of day. He was slim, and his general face shape reminded Logan of Scott. But rather than carefully arranged hair, he was almost bald. And instead of a visor, vivid blue eyes shone out at him. There was a bag at his side.

Logan snarled at him, and the man held his ground, trying to catch his breath.

"I nearly hit yer with my fuckin' truck, you idiot."

"Sorry," he answered, and he sounded afraid. He kept glancing at Logan's hands . "You're one of them? "

"'m a mutant. And 'm also the only person round here. So I'd be careful what you say."

The man glanced around, staring back into the woodland. Logan glanced in that direction but he couldn't hear or see anyone. "What you doing here, kid?"

"Just... out for a stroll." The young man lied, lifting his chin up and glaring back, as though he wasn't scrawny and helpless. Only as Logan took a closer look at him, he could see a nasty bruise emerging from under his t-shirt sleeve, and a gauntness to his face that implied he hadn't eaten in a while.

He cursed under his breath. "What's in the bag, kid?" 

"Changes of clothes. Some food. A few dollars." The kid answered as though he was giving a report, then swallowed dryly. "Like, you can rob me if you want, but there isn't anything worth taking."

Logan leaned in slightly for a closer look, and the youth seemed to tense up. But there was no sign he was lying about that. This kid was running through the forest, in the middle of nowhere, in shoes that had half-fallen apart and clothes that were suited for summer. "You ain't a mutant, are you?"

"No, sir," the youth answered, and he sounded so damn respectful. So earnest. And Logan wished the boy had been a mutant, because he could have taken him back to the school and washed his hands of him. But if the kid was human, that meant he wasn't Storm's problem. He was Logan's. And Logan couldn't face leaving him. Not in this state.

"You need a ride somewhere?" Logan offered, and the kid nodded, glancing around, like a prey animal. And none of that was good. Logan knew humans could be sick fucks to their own kind, as well as to mutants. Kid didn't wanna talk, he wasn't gonna ask. But he wanted to know.

"Wherever you're going. Just... I wanna get out of here."

"What happened to out for a stroll?" Logan asked, and the young man shrugged, and Logan cursed inside because at that moment he looked so like Scott it hurt.

But Logan wasn't gonna leave some fucked up human barely into adulthood on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere just because his face looked like Scott's. "Get in the truck. I pick the music."

The boy climbed into the car obediently, curling up against the passenger side window. Logan couldn't help staring at how damn thin the guy was. Silence fell between them. He twisted, pulling a blanket out from under the seat, and brushing off some of the cigar ash. He threw it over the other guy. "There you go. You look frozen and I don't want a corpse in my truck." He realised as he said it that the joke was probably a bit dark - this guy wasn't Scott, didn't want to swap lines the way Scott did. Had done. Fuck. 

It was going to be hard to keep thinking of Scott being gone with this guy there. But he had to. This kid was afraid, and Logan didn't want to ask too many questions. He'd get the guy out of there. Hell, if it turned out the kid was actually some kind of mutant axe-murderer, it'd make the journey interesting.

"Thanks." The guy smiled. "My... my name's Simon. What's yours?"

"Logan," Logan answered, not wanting to talk. The guy seemed to take the hint.

A few miles out, the youth'd fallen asleep. He was clearly exhausted, and Logan groaned, running his hand through his hair. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with someone right now, someone thinking he could help, when his recent losses were just further proof that him caring about someone got them killed. 

Logan wondered about dropping him off at some motel . Just paying for a few days, leaving the kid with some money, and driving off into the sunset. He was normally good at that.

But he couldn't do it. He pulled off the road to get some sleep, wrapping his arms around himself because his guest took the blanket.

He didn't have nightmares that night. He slept surprisingly peaceful, until the next morning he woke up to the sound of the door of his truck opening.

He was ambushed by memories of the previous night. If it weren't for the guy currently walking away from his truck, he'd have thought he'd made it all up. But the guy was there.

"Sc-" He caught himself and tried again. "Simon!"

Simon froze, turning back to the truck. He looked a little more rested, but in the light it was clear just how hungry he was, and how his skin was visibly mottled beneath his shirt. Simon grinned at him. "Hey, Logan."

"Hey yourself." Logan stared at him, smelling the panic that was rising at being caught. "Look, you can run off into the sunset for all I care. But right now we're in the middle of nowhere. Come back in, I'll get you to the nearest town, and you can go wherever you want."

There was a moment's hesitation, and Simon nodded. "Okay. Sure. Just give me a few minutes to freshen up?"

Logan snorted, his heart stinging at how Simon's politeness reminded him of Scott. He couldn't keep thinking of the other man every time Simon did something. "Yeah, I need a piss too. Just come back after, I got some food in the back."

Simon nodded and slipped away. Logan relieved himself against a nearby tree, then dug around in the back of the truck, pulling out some bottled water, a few protein bars, and some chocolate. The kid looked like he needed to eat. 

He told himself if Simon ran, he wasn't gonna chase him. The boy had to make his own choices, even if they were fucking stupid. And getting into a truck with Logan - well, that was stupid too.

It didn't take long for Simon to return. He'd changed into a different shirt, and was looking a little less exhausted than he had the night before, which was something. He got into the car silently.

Logan passed over half the food. "Knock yourself out. We should hit a town by lunch, I can buy us burgers." 

The young man nodded, picking at one of the protein bars as Logan got the truck moving. Logan drove in silence for a bit, as he ate. Eventually, the silence got too much for him.

"How old are you, kid?"

There was a pause.

"Legal, if that's what you're asking," Simon answered, neatly folding up the wrapper of his protein bar. "I mean, I don't want to give you an exact date..."

"Don't want to or can't?" Logan cut him off, and the kid shrugged.

"I know I'm... I'm in my twenties. Early twenties. I just... lost track." For a few seconds there was silence, the kid lost in whatever memories he was struggling with. Logan was reaching for the music when the kid spoke again, little more than a whisper. 

"What about you?"

"Over a hundred and fifty." Logan shrugged. "But I look good for it, don't I?"

Simon stared at him. "You really are a mutant then?" He gestured towards his hands.

Logan flexed his hand, popping the claws out. "Yeah." 

"Can I touch them?" Simon asked, his head tilted to one side. Logan snorted and held out his hand, trying to keep his attention on the road ahead as Simon looked at his hand, tapping his slender fingers against the metal blades.

"Who do you work for?" Simon asked after a little longer. 

"No one. Used to work for a school-"

Beside him, Simon tensed , and Logan could feel his heartrate rocket. Logan took a deep breath, trying to work out what to say to calm him the fuck down. "Just as a substitute teacher. And I taught history and stuff. But... I lost two friends, and I couldn't face staying any more."

"What kind of school?"

"Boarding school for gifted kids." The lie rolled off his tongue easily. "They could come and go as they pleased though, it wasn't some prison shit."

Simon seemed to breathe a little easier. "They had families?"

"Yeah. You got a family? I ain't got nowhere special to go, I can take you back if you're bein' missed."

"Not being missed." Simon stared out of the window, his voice shaking. "Not by my family, anyway. I'm an orphan."

Logan nodded, turning up the radio, trying not to think of _Justine_ and the kind of shit that Victor used to read when they were stuck in the ass end of nowhere. Simon wasn't some swooning heroine. He was a fucked up kid who didn't have anywhere else to go, and like it or not - that meant he was Logan's problem. 

"Where do you wanna go?" Logan asked. "I got no plans, so if there's anywhere you recognise..."

"I'm not looking to go anywhere in particular," Simon answered. "I know I want to be away from where I was. And... thank you."

"It's okay."

"You... you haven't asked me."

"Way I see it, if you wanna talk about it, you'll talk. If you don't, you won't. Ain't no point me asking." 

"Thanks." Simon nodded, turning to gaze out of the window, watching the woodland give way to fields as he picked at a second protein bar. 

Time passed, Simon seemingly lost in thought. Eventually, he turned to Logan and shrugged. "You don't look much like a school teacher."

"Thanks." Logan snorted. "Trust me, I don't want to." He grinned. "So what was your plan before I found you?"

"Find a road. Track it to a nearby town, then hitchhike further out. Sleep up in trees during the day to try and avoid detection, travel through bodies of water where I could. Keep moving." Simon answered so strategically it hurt. Logan didn't know how long he could stand it, when so much of Simon reminded him of what he'd lost.

"So what's the plan now?" Logan asked.

"See what happens?" Simon shrugged, and there was an innocence to his expression that Scott had never shown - Simon's eyes made his face look a lot younger. "What about you?"

"Plan was to run away from all my responsibilities." Logan snorted again, gesturing towards Simon. "You can see how well that worked out."

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to be a burden." Simon seemed to shrink in on himself.

"You ain't a burden, kid. You're just... not what I was expecting. But then what I did expect sucked, so you ain't a bad thing." Logan reached out, ruffling the kid’s hair. Simon glared at him, straightening his hair and gazing back out the window.

"Guess you're stuck with me for now."

Logan shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

Simon turned out to be a pretty good travelling companion. He was smart, kind of funny, and painfully lacking in self-confidence. He didn't volunteer anything about his past, and Logan did the same, talking about nothing in particular as they headed down the road.

The kid liked some pretty awful music , but Logan glanced over at his skinny frame and hidden bruises and decided that if the kid wanted to listen to pop, he would tolerate it for now. There wasn't much that he seemed to know the lyrics to.

"We'll stop in an actual hotel tonight," Logan told him. He needed a shower - and he wanted the kid to have a shower too, because he smelled still of chemicals. It was a scent that set Logan’s teeth on edge. "We'll get a twin, I ain't made of money. But you can choose what bed you want." Normally he'd insist on going nearer the door, ready to attack any intruder, but he didn't want the guy to feel trapped. Simon didn't argue.

The main complaint Logan had with Simon, as they travelled along, was the kid didn't turn out to be an axe murderer or something. He was just a kid, and just trying his best to make sense of stuff. He wasn't manipulating anyone, and that in a way was hard for Logan to accept. He was so used to there being motives and plans, that someone just being nice felt fishy. He supposed that was a sign he'd spent too long with telepaths and mad scientists.

"Do the claws hurt?" Simon asked, glancing again at Logan's hands.

"Yeah," he snorted. "Hurt whoever I use them on too."

Simon nodded, frowning. Logan recognised that expression - it was the expression you got when you knew there was an answer somewhere, and you couldn't reach it. When you knew something was happening, but not what. He got it on his face whenever he thought about his past. He didn't ask. The kid didn't wanna talk, and he got it. 

"You know," Logan muttered. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

"You don't know if I deserved it."

Logan glanced over, taking in Simon's skinny form, wide blue eyes, and how he was sitting neatly in his seat, not slouching at all. "Yeah, I do, kid. You didn't. And yer safe now."

Simon's lips twitched a little in a smile. "Thanks."

Logan shrugged it off. He knew he couldn't protect anyone , not really, but he also knew the boy wanted to feel safe, and he wasn't quite enough of a bastard to take that away from him.

"You need anything when we get to town? Those shoes of yours look shite."

"Maybe new shoes," the kid shrugged. "I'll be okay though."

Logan snorted, and focused on driving. The day passed in snatches of conversation, and the occasional break to let Simon stretch his legs, burgers at a rundown rest stop. They hit a town as it was getting dark, and he knew that the shops would be closed. He found a motel, paid for a room, and returned to the truck to find Simon waiting.

"You okay?" 

"Yeah." The kid nodded.

"Didn't wanna do a runner?"

Simon shook his head, following Logan to their room. It was small, but Logan'd slept in worse places. Simon shrugged. "I'd like the bed by the window."

"Fine by me. You wanna freshen up first?"

Simon nodded, heading in to shower, and Logan sat down on his bed and groaned. He couldn't mess this up. This kid needed him to pull himself together. He kept looking at the boy and seeing Scott, and that was a dangerous path to go down. He clenched his fist and let the blades emerge , gazing at his face in his claws, reminding himself of all the damage he had caused with them. He wasn't going to get close to someone.

Simon came back from showering with a towel around his waist, and Logan looked away, muttering about taking a shower himself. He washed quickly, pulled on his boxers and some pajama pants, and came back to find that Simon was dressed in his clothes again, curled up on the floor with his back to the wall.

"Si?"

"Head hurts," Simon muttered. "It... I dunno, I don't like it..." 

Logan approached, crouching down in front of him. "Si, come on..."

Simon cringed, his face scrunched up in pain, and then because apparently the universe liked fucking him over, Logan got hit with the smell of him. Without that cloying chemical sticking to him, he smelled like Scott. Part of Logan just wanted to press his face against Simon's neck, inhale him. But he wasn't a fucking animal, and Simon was hurting. He picked him up carefully, carrying him over to his bed.

"Get some rest, kid."

The boy whimpered softly, clutching at Logan's hand. "It hurts."

"I can get you some painkillers or-"

"No drugs," the kid insisted, smelling like Logan’s friend and he wouldn't let go of Logan's arm. Logan didn't believe in any kinda god, but he wondered now if there was one and they liked fucking with him.

"Okay, no drugs. Come on Simon, you gotta let me go."

"Will you hold me? It hurts so bad," Simon whispered, his voice soft from pain, and Logan knew it was a bad idea, but he shrugged and climbed into bed with the kid, wrapping around him. He rubbed Simon's back, and tried not to inhale his scent, and soon the kid was asleep, the little frown of pain softened in rest. Logan pulled away, getting in his own bed, and spent a while cursing every god he could think of.

The next morning, Simon seemed to be a little brighter, and Logan tried to ignore his scent , handing him some money and telling him to go buy some new shoes and whatever else he needed.

With Simon gone, Logan gave some serious thought to running . He could get a good distance before the kid came back, and he'd left him with money and some distance from whoever he was running from. That had to be a good sign, and it wasn't like Logan was a hero, no matter what Chuck had had him believe for a little while. It'd be easy to go to his truck, gun the engine and forget about Simon.

Those fucking blue eyes would haunt him though. In the end, he didn't run, and Simon came back with a bag full of shopping. "Got you this." Simon smiled, holding out an in-car ash-tray. 

"Seriously?"

"You get ash everywhere. It's a fire hazard," Simon answered, and the smile on his lips was almost teasing. "Got you some beer too." He held it up, and Logan grinned - it was a brand he'd mentioned liking the day before. 

"Come on, we can see how far we can get by sundown if you want."

Simon grinned, grabbing what remained of his stuff and rushing over to the truck.

***

It became a routine. All of it, the good and the bad - Simon a travelling companion as Logan carried on his journey to nowhere. The kid was still awkward, and too smart for his own good, but as days passed the bruises faded and his face filled out a bit. He didn't talk about his past, neither of them did. But it got easier to spend time together.

The kid had nightmares sometimes, and he got bad migraines most evenings around sunset. He ended up curling up in the truck or whatever motel they were sleeping in, and biting his lip in an attempt not to cry out in pain. Logan didn't let himself think about that one too much. Being held seemed to help though. So Logan rubbed his shoulders and told him it'd stop, curled up around him when he could.

And Simon would smile at him, every time, as though Logan was someone good. Something good. It was the bullshit of an abused boy clinging to any chance of kindness, but it made Logan feel warm inside, because he was apparently enough of an asshole to appreciate gratitude born of suffering. 

Simon always took the bed by the window, and Logan liked that, liked knowing he could keep him safe. It felt like he was doing something good. He'd bought the kid a gun, because if it came down to it, he wanted the boy armed, and it wasn't like being shot was a problem. They stood close, stopping to practice, Logan showing him how to aim. Simon was a great shot.

Logan knew he was attracted to the kid . He also knew Simon was, if anything, more fucked up than he was, which was saying something, and that part of his attraction was because he still saw Scott every time he looked at him. So he buried his attraction beneath gruff words and obnoxious smirks, and tried not to let the boy know. He was pretty sure that knowing would have spooked Simon. 

The kid had suffered enough. He didn't deserve the mess that happened to anyone Logan loved.

And then one night they'd been eating pizza, sitting on Simon's bed by the open window, Simon's face lit by the light of a streetlamp and the setting sun. And Simon had paused between bites of pizza, leaned in, and pressed a kiss to Logan's lips. 

It was only a brief peck, but Logan knew that Simon hadn't meant it in a friendly manner. It was an offer. He couldn't accept.

"I don't like guys, kid."

"Seen you looking," Simon argued.

"Maybe I looked. But I can't..." Logan's protest was stopped by Simon leaning in again, kissing him deeply now, and the air was full of the smell of Scott, and Logan wanted him, wanted to pretend - and that was what snapped Logan out of it. Because he was thinking of Scott. And he couldn't do that to Simon, not when the kid was finally opening up.

"I don't wanna." Logan glared, and Simon cringed back a little, flinching. 

Logan hesitated, taking in the image of the boy. He looked wretched, full of emotion and frowning as darkness fell. "Migraine?"

"Migraine," the boy agreed, moving closer, guilt across his face. "I'm sorry..."

"You don't need to be sorry for needing this. Me helping isn't conditional on anything, okay? If I don't help it's because I don't know, not because I want you to suffer..." Logan opened up his arms, letting Simon burrow against his side, placing one hand over Logan's heart. 

"You okay?"

"Yeah." Logan sighed. "There was someone. And I lost him, and sometimes I remember but... I'm not ready to be close to someone again. You're already a fucking liability."

"But you like me," Simon teased, and Logan snorted, pressing his face into Simon's hair, trying to concentrate on the smell of cheap hotel shampoo. 

"Yeah, I like you. You're a pain in my ass, but at least you keep things interesting..." He sighed.

"So what was this guy like?"

"Stickler for the rules. Total prick, hated him soon as I met him." Logan laughed and shook his head. "He'd do the right thing, no matter what it cost. And I miss him." Logan cracked the window open and lit a cigar, taking a smoke, and being careful to keep it away from Simon, knowing he didn't like the smell. "He saw the good in everyone, even when he'd been hurt. And it... it made me feel like there was some kind of purpose, you know? That I could be more than the monster people said I was." He snorted. "Shit like that."

"You're not a monster," Simon told him. "You're the best guy I've ever met." 

"Given the state you were in when I found you, I dunno that's much of a compliment."

"Yeah, but it's still a compliment," Simon answered with a shrug, not objecting to Logan smoking. "It was nice to kiss you."

"Yeah, you think that Slim, but you're even more fucked in the head than I am."

"What'd you call me?" Simon asked, lifting his head and frowning up at Logan, despite the obvious pain from his migraine.

"Slim... Sorry, it just slipped out. Nickname for my friend, and it kinda suits you too, you were basically a fuckin' twig when I found yer."

"It... I remember that name, sometimes," Simon muttered, and Logan resisted the urge to roll his eyes because of course he'd hit on something that triggered some trauma, that was just the kinda guy he was. 

"Yeah? You don't have to talk about it, you know?"

"Yeah." Simon shrugged. "Just flashes really, it's a blur... honestly, that's probably a good thing. This guy who... I was with, before. I'm pretty sure he kidnapped me, he wanted to run all kinds of tests..." He shuddered, pressing his face into Logan's side. Logan ran a heavy hand down his back until the kid's shivering ceased. 

Sure, this was tough. But Simon needed him and he had to do it.

Then, everything began to fall apart . Simon looked up at him, with big blue eyes, and kept talking.

"I used to read comics and stuff, as a kid. I remember that, in the orphanage... I wanted to help people. Do something right. I used to dream about saving people, you know?"

"Yeah," Logan snorted. "I know."

"And I have dreams sometimes. That I was helping. That I had friends and... and I don't..." Simon shook his head, words failing him. "The guy... what I remember, I don't remember him ever using a name for me. Mostly it was just 'the test subject' this and 'the experiment' that. But I remember... before. Snatches. Ridiculous flickers but..." 

Logan held him close, feeling the way Simon was shaking beneath his touch. "You can stop, if you need to."

"No... I want to... I remember someone calling me Slim. And..Si... Psyke? Maybe? It was the closest to a name I had, so... I picked Simon. I guessed it might have been something close-" the boy continued talking, his voice trailing off, but Logan barely noticed. He kept repeating what the kid - what Slim - what 'Cyke' - had said. Flashes of memory. Fuck.

He took another puff of his cigar, and nodded. "Look, there's some shit I need to buy, 'cause we're heading North and I don't want to be caught without antifreeze and shit. You gonna be okay holding the fort 'til I get back?"

"Of course." Simon managed a weak smile, lying back on his bed and pulling the blanket over him. "I'll take a shower. I'll be fine."

"You better be," Logan muttered, but his heart wasn't in it. His mind was racing, and he thought he was about to be sick.

Logan considered it a sign of great strength of character that he managed to leave the room before he started shaking.

He couldn't help. If this was Scott - Scott needed to be home, he had to be in somewhere he'd feel safe, somewhere that'd help him. That was the school, not with him. He wondered how dumb he was to not have realised - he'd recognised him in that first moment, and he'd pushed it away. He waited until he heard the shower switch on, and then moved away from the door.

The migraines. Scott had mentioned a few times before that he had migraines, and Logan hadn't... Logan hadn't thought. Logan realised now he was a fucking idiot, stupider than an animal. An animal, faced with a familiar scent, would at least acknowledge it. He'd done the opposite.

He made his way out to the truck, wondering if he should just leave, tell Storm where to collect one brainwashed X-man. But he couldn't leave Si-Sco-Simon. Simon only knew him, only trusted him.

Ororo was a smart girl. She'd know how to help, and then it'd be her problem and not his. He supposed that'd do for now at least.

He didn't want to be too far away from Scott, so he stayed close to the room, pulling out his phone. He dialled, hating the fact that he was so dependent on people now - he was meant to be a lone wolf, and he pulled this bullshit regularly.

"Ororo?"

"What is it, Logan? It's late." 

"I found him." Logan could feel his voice shaking as he said it. "I found Scott. Can you... Can you come and collect him?"

"Logan, you can't be serious-"

"I wouldn't fucking joke about this, Ororo. It's him. Smells like him, acts like him. Even got the same fuckin' personality. No powers but it’s him. He needs to go home, and right now I don't... I don't know what to say to him." He listed off the address of the motel, and hung up the phone, his heart racing.

Storm would come. And he was sure that Scott would remember who he was when he was home, surrounded by the people that he loved and was where he wanted to be. That'd be good. That'd be... that'd be what was right. This was how these stories ended. Guys like Scott escaped from monsters like him, and they went to be happy elsewhere.

He wondered what Scott - the _real_ Scott, Scott from before - would have made of Simon kissing him. He tried not to let his thoughts stray too far down that path, because that way only madness lay. 

He took a few more minutes outside to catch his breath and calm himself down, and then he made his way back to the hotel room, swinging the key around his finger and plastering a fake smile on his face.

He pushed open the door to the room. 

It was empty.

"Sc-Simon?" Logan frowned, sniffing the air. He'd been directly outside. There was nowhere that Simon could have gone. And he could hear the rapid jackhammering of the boy's heart.

"Kid?" he called out. "I know you're in here. I can smell you."

He listened, scenting the air, his eyes half-closed as he tried to focus - the boy was in the closet. That was smart - the way the doors worked, once Logan had taken a couple of steps inside, Simon could get out behind him. Logan paused. "Come on, kid. Get out of there, yer embarrassing both of us."

There was a pause, and he could actually hear Scott holding his breath, working out his next steps. Because Scott was damn smart. Even now, with fuck all memory, not even a name, no powers and completely alone in the world - Scott was fighting. 

The door to the closet slid open, and Logan found himself staring at the barrel of a gun. Okay, maybe not so smart.

He lifted his hands, already making plans. "Sc-Simon, come on. You know I have a healing factor. You shoot me, all that's gonna do is slow me down. Let's sit down. Talk about this. I can explain-" He was preparing to spring when Scott adjusted the gun, bringing it up to his own head. The kid’s hand was shaking.

"Scott... easy now, put that down..." Logan took a few steps backwards.

"I'm not going back." Scott - Simon - glared at him. "I know you called him. I know you told him where I am, but I'm not going back."

Logan hissed out a breath. "Si, you're not understanding, let me-"

"Give me the keys to the truck." 

"Do you even know how to drive?" Logan muttered, stalling for time. He'd be able to trail him, but given his current state he wasn't sure that Scott would be safe behind the wheel.

"I watched you. Stop... stop trying to distract me. Give me the keys."

Logan wondered about throwing the keys, and then grabbing the gun while Scott was distracted. It wasn't worth it. He held them out.

Simon approached, taking the keys, never moving the gun from his head. He took a deep breath. 

"I know you're fast. But you won't be able to stop me in time. I'm not... I won't go back there."

"I'd never take you back," Logan swore. Simon's answering smile was sad.

"Thanks for everything. I'll try and leave the truck in good condition so you can get it back." With that, Simon edged out of the door.

Logan stood there helplessly, rage burning inside of him. He wanted to chase him. But he'd be able to track Scott down if he was alive. He could do fuck all if Scott was dead.

He heard the engine of his truck start outside, and realised with some amusement that technically, he had been robbed. By Scott Summers, the boy scout, of all people.

It was then that he saw the note on the bedside table. _I heard you. Thank you, but I can't stay. Simon._ There was an arrow pointing to the drawer beneath.

He opened it and saw six bullets.

The fucker had been bluffing. He groaned, collapsing down on the bed. It was an utter mess, and despite it all he couldn't help feeling proud of the little prick. He supposed that was probably not something to think about too deeply.

He wasn't sure if he should wait for Storm, or go after the kid on his own. He pictured Storm arriving, looking for Scott, and having to admit he'd been thoroughly outsmarted by the kid whilst Scott was completely depowered, lacking in memories and basically helpless... that didn't sound like a fun conversation to have. He groaned, rubbing at his forehead.

He'd got him and Scott into this mess, and he'd get them out of it.

He grabbed his bag, heading down to the parking lot, and made his way over to a bike. It was easy enough to steal it, and soon the engine purred beneath him. He knew Scott would have wanted him to leave a note offering to pay for borrowing the bike, but Scott was enough of a brat that he'd run out on him in the middle of the night, so he didn't get to take the moral high ground. 

He drove on instinct, knowing that Scott wasn't the type to speed unless it was an emergency, and also knowing that Scott wouldn't count a threat to his own life as an emergency. Logan was happy to speed, and that meant he was gaining on him. He just had to catch up before the brat got himself into more shit.

He didn't want to think about how fuckin' scared Scott must have been, or the kind of trouble he could end up in if Logan wasn't fast enough - Logan knew all too well what could come of having some creepy ass scientist obsessed with you, and the short answer was nothing good.

Scott was smart. Hell, Simon was smart, and Simon had no clue who he was or what his history was. Logan just had to act like Scott would have made all the smart choices, and hopefully he'd track him down fast.

He ignored the fear and sickness gnawing away inside of him, the knowledge of the number of times he had cuddled against Scott, not knowing - and he wasn't sure if Scott would blame him. He was pretty sure Scott _should_ blame him, but that didn't mean he would - he wasn't necessarily that kind of guy.

There wasn't much traffic on the road this time of night, and he could see distant headlights that he was sure had to be his truck. They were far enough away that someone without enhanced senses would have missed them, but they were there. He pushed the bike harder, watching at a distance as the truck swerved, and then turned to the side, sliding off the road and into a field.

He raced the remaining distance, pulling up beside the truck.

The first thing he noticed was the driver’s door was open. He popped his claws, looking around for potential trouble - Scott couldn't have seen him at that kind of distance, so if something had spooked him off the road, he needed to be aware.

The second thing, and the thing that worried him worse, was that the front windshield had been smashed. Glass lay littered on the hood of the vehicle.

Something felt off about the scene. He couldn't quite work it out, but there was something. He sniffed the air, searching for any sign - and he smelled Scott. He was hiding under the truck.

Carefully, he crouched down, to see that Scott was lying on his stomach under the truck, his hands shielding his face. It was clear he was shaking.

"Simon?" Logan spoke softly. "You're okay. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, I swear on everything... I swear on my life. And you know I'm basically immortal, huh, so that's a guarantee..."

There was no response from Scott to that joke. Only silence stretching on, and there was something very unnerving about that. Simon was never quiet. He was always happy to talk, to keep Logan from his own thoughts. But he did nothing now…

"You need to get out of there, Simon. You've wrote it off, it ain't worth shit now and we need to get you somewhere safe. Come out... hell... kid, get out of there..."

Simon reeked of fear. It wasn't a good scent. Logan didn't know what to make of the fact Simon was so terrified - no matter what he'd overheard, whatever he'd thought would happen.

"I'm not going to let them hurt you."

"It's not that," Scott whispered, before starting to wriggle inelegantly out from under the truck, his hands feeling the way before he slid himself forwards. "It's not about that, not now... they were right."

"What do you mean?" Logan asked, and Scott's head tilted towards him. He saw that Scott had his eyes closed.

Logan felt something click into place in his mind - the truck looked wrong because the glass hadn't landed on the driver. It had been flung forwards, onto the hood, because the window had broken from the inside.

"You're a mutant," Logan admitted, reaching out and resting his hand on Scott's arm. "And I'm going to need you to keep your eyes closed for now - you look at me, it'll sting and I'll survive. But anyone else... they might not survive. So you need to be strong and keep those eyes closed, okay?"

Simon nodded.

"Alright. Now, I can explain. Your name is Scott Summers. You lead a team of mutants. Heroes. Called the X-Men. You saved people. Saved me, even if I didn't fucking deserve it. And we thought you'd died - had a grave for you and everything. You heard me making a call, right?"

Simon nodded.

"I was calling the leader of the X-Men, a woman called Ororo, to help you. She's going to come to the motel room, and..." he stared at his truck, not sure it would go, and groaned.

"I'm sorry about your truck."

"I'm sorry I scared you. Look, you have to keep your eyes closed.

"What do I...I'm a monster."

"Not a monster," Logan reassured. "A mutant. A powerful one. But your powers have never... you can't control them well. And if you open your eyes, there's a good chance I'll be seriously injured, so if you wouldn't mind skipping doing that for now that would be great."

"Okay."

"I can take you back to the motel, contact Ororo, tell her to bring your visor - it's a ruby quartz shield that means... well, it means you can control your ability. And you'll be able to see."

"I think I wrecked the truck."

"Probably," Logan paused. "I'm going to touch your arm, okay?"

Simon nodded, and Logan reached out to give his arm a gentle squeeze.

"You're doing great."

"We can't get back and I... I don't want to be here on my own..."

"You can ride with me," Logan answered instantly. "Put your arms around me, ride behind me on the bike. We'll get back to the motel as long as you keep your eyes shut. Can you do that?"

Simon nodded, awkwardly stumbling to his feet. "We can give it a go."

"That's all I ask." Logan offered his hand to steady him. "You're doing great. I know this is a lot to take in."

"I still... I don't remember. I remember...flashes. Scraps. And not all of them good."

"The memories might come back. And being home will help you. Just hold tight," Logan instructed, helping Simon onto the bike. "Don't you dare let go." He wished he'd stolen a helmet. He paused, then guided Simon off, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around Simon. "Here. This way if you fall, you've got some protection."

"What about you?"

"Healing factor, remember? And I don't care about that. Just want to make sure you're doing okay. I... I didn't mean to spook you like that." Logan arranged them back on the bike. "Hold on tight. I go fast ." With that, he started the engine, feeling Simon's arms slip into place around him, and trying not to think about how amazing it felt at that moment.

Simon was pressing his face into Logan's shoulder, and Logan tried not to think about that, about how close they had become - what mattered was getting Scott to safety. With the bike roaring beneath him he wasn't sure Simon could hear him, but he could feel how tightly Scott was holding on. He waited at any moment for the agony of being struck by one of Scott's blasts, but that didn't happen. Scott had his eyes closed.

It didn't take long to get back to the motel. He parked the bike, placing a gentle hand on Scott's arm. "Okay. We're back. I'm gonna get up and take your arm, okay?"

The kid nodded, letting Logan guide him back to the motel room. Logan settled him on his bed, reaching out to pat Scott's arm, and then backing away a bit. "Ororo will be here soon. You're safe, we won't let anyone hurt you."

Simon nodded, but Logan wasn't sure he was believed. He hoped he'd be able to show him the truth , just by holding out and staying strong. After a few moments, he smiled. "Thanks for coming to get me. Given I can't open my eyes, I'd have been pretty stuck if you hadn't..."

"It's okay. And I'm sorry you're scared. But don't worry about that. I came to get you and that's what matters." Logan saw his phone light up, and picked it up. "Hey."

"Hello. We've just landed."

"I don't suppose you got one of Cyke's spare visors in the Blackbird?"

"What?" Ororo asked, and he could hear the mixture of fear and hope in her voice. 

"He needs one."

"It's really him then?"

"It is," Logan agreed. "I knew ... I could smell it on him. I just didn't want to be right. I'm sorry Storm, I coulda let you know... could have saved him a lot of pain."

Across from him, Scott got to his feet, his eyes still tightly closed as he stumbled forwards. He reached out for Logan. Logan held out his hand, guiding him closer. Scott took his hand, and then tried to grab for the phone. With a faint smile, Logan passed it over.

"Hi?" Simon mumbled into the phone. "Thanks... look, I'm sorry for causing so much trouble. I didn't mean it. But it wasn't... it wasn't Logan being a problem. He did great, he..." Simon's voice shook slightly. "He saved me, so don't let him act like he messed up somehow." He swallowed, his hands shaking a little. "I can't remember much. Just glimpses, nothing more... I'm sorry. Maybe it'll come back."

Logan pulled him into a hug. "It's okay if it don't kid. You're great, just as you are."

The youth made a disbelieving snort, but didn't pull away from the embrace, leaning into it for comfort, his eyes closed as he tried to calm himself with deep steady breaths. Logan longed to wrap his arms around him and make everything alright.

"I'll be there soon," Ororo said, and the line went dead.

Scott rested his head on Logan's shoulder. "What should I do now? I can't be who they want, I don't even remember..."

"I think you should go. The people at that school care about you, and... it's your home. It'll help you get your memories back."

"You're coming too, right?" Scott said, full of so much certainty that Logan didn't want to disappoint him. "I mean, you don't have a truck. So… "

"I guess," Logan laughed, only just holding back on the urge to ruffle the boy's hair. "You don't want to make a start without me?"

"I'm sure," Scott answered, full of confidence, before he paused and frowned. "I've got to ask. What am I like, really?"

"I told you. You were a leader-"

"I know. I heard all that." Simon shrugged. "But I want to know what I'm _actually_ like, you know? Not just...the public persona?"

"You stick to the rules," Logan said with a smile. "At least, Scott Summers does. I know you... I know that's who you are, and hopefully we can untangle this. But if we can't, that's okay. I want my friend back, yes. But I want you around too. You're a lot more friendly than he ever was."

"Not how I remember it," Simon answered. "I just get glimpses. But I don't think you liked me very much."

"I did. I just never told you. Not until it was too late. We thought you were dead. That you'd died on the side of a lake. I never thought I'd see you again, and now... here you are. But I ... I like you, Simon, not just Scott. I promise." 

"I believe you."

Simon's voice shook a little, but he moved into Logan's hold, his hand reaching up to trace the outline of Logan’s face as he kept his eyes closed. "You've... been nothing but kind to me. And I ran away from you. I'm sorry."

"I scared you," Logan answered, and that hurt because it was true. He didn't want to have hurt Simon, not after everything the kid had been through, but he knew he had. He'd simply been too caught up in the realisation, and made stupid mistakes. 

"I should have known you weren't working for that scientist." Simon shook his head. "But I'm sure now." He paused, then twisted, leaning up and clumsily brushing his lips against Logan's cheek, using Logan’s stubble to guide him to his mouth. He kissed him for a moment.

Logan pulled back. "You don't know what you're doing."

"I was kissing you," Simon argued, frowning. "Because I had wanted to for a while, and now I know... who we are. I want it. You want it. I see no harm."

"You're unbearable, you know that?"

"I do what I can," Simon agreed, leaning in for another kiss. Logan considered doing the right thing and pulling away, but it wasn't like he was insisting - Simon was being damned clear on what he wanted, and he wasn't gonna ignore him. Not when he'd wanted this - dreamed of this - for so long. First Scott, and then Simon, and now this strange mixture in the man in front of him.

Simon's arms were around his shoulders and he was kissing him and the door opened. Simon flinched, burying his face in Logan's shoulder - helplessly trying to hide his eyes. Logan popped his claws out, turning to face Ororo, who stared down at him with an inscrutable expression on her face.

"Really?" she asked.

"He kissed me." Logan glared defensively, running his hand down Simon's back. Ororo approached, holding out a visor, pausing and speaking with a surprising amount of tenderness. 

"Hey there. It's okay. You're safe now. I've got your visor."

"I don't remember how to put it on safely," Simon whispered, and Ororo nodded, pushing a couple of the buttons at the side and then slipping it over Simon's eyes. Logan already missed the blue he'd seen before Scott's power had recovered.

"You can look now."

"Are you sure?" Simon asked. "There's not anyone in front of me?"

Logan carefully aimed him towards the wall. "You're safe now, kid. Open your eyes."

There was a pause, before the narrowest crack of light was visible behind the visor, Simon opening one eye cautiously. When nothing exploded, he opened both of his eyes, gazing forwards, a faint smile on his lips. He still... there was part of him that still looked like Simon, not Scott, his face free of the kind of pain that Scott had worn like armour.

Logan tried to ignore the ache in his chest.

Simon turned to Ororo and smiled. "Thank you. I remember... I remember a little. I remember you have been a good friend, for many years. I only know flashes but... it's coming back stronger."

"Are you ready to go home?" Ororo asked.

"I am," Simon agreed, reaching for Logan's hand. "He needs to come with us and get another truck, I... broke... his."

Ororo shot him a smirk, and Logan shrugged. 

"Trucks are replaceable Cyke, you ain't. I'll come with you for now."

Simon followed Ororo to the carpark, where the Blackbird was waiting. He walked automatically to the pilot's seat, then frowned and shook his head. "I can't... I can't remember."

"It's okay," Ororo murmured. "We'll work it out. I can fly it."

"I should be able to." Simon sighed, then turned away, sitting in the back in the seat next to the one Logan always took. Logan sat beside him, and Ororo completed the pre-flight checks.

"Do..." Simon hesitated, leaning against Logan to whisper. "Do you think I'm going to disappear? That... the memories of who I should be would just... take over, and... I'll go?"

"No." Logan reached out, tucking the slender young man against him. "I don't think you'll disappear. I think you're too damned stubborn for that. I think you'll... you'll remember. Some. Maybe all of it. But you've got your own memories, your own experiences. I..." Logan cursed under his breath. "I know what it's like. To not know who you are, to try and scramble for an identity that don't feel like yours, because at least it's fucking... it’s something. But who you are now, even without those memories... you count, okay?"

"Okay," Simon said, and he said it so earnestly Logan's heart ached. "I... suppose I'd better go by Scott, though, if we're going to the school. I wouldn't want the students to be confused. We can tell them... a little. Whatever you think would be best, the two of you."

"Not the truth," Logan growled, at the same time as Ororo answered, "They should know."

Simon - Scott, Logan supposed - managed a faint smile in response. "This isn't a very united front we're offering. We'll tell them I lost some memories. That I was kidnapped and escaped, and that Logan rescued me. We won't... we'll only tell them that for now. And that I... I don't want to go into the field. Not now, not while I barely know how to use my own eyesight... but one day. When I'm ready."

Logan nodded, trying to ignore how much of Simon he could see in the man in front of him. "I tried to steal your girlfriend."

"You didn't manage," Scott shot back, and there was a smile there, brighter than any Logan would have expected from him. "And I think... if I'd realised... If I'd understood how you felt... we'd have found a way. But it's too late now." 

Logan leaned in, kissing him roughly, pressing his tongue into Scott's mouth until he yielded, clutching at Logan's shoulders. "Don't look too late to me," Logan muttered when he pulled back for air, ignoring Storm's glare from the front of the jet.

After all his travelling, it didn't take long for the jet to get back to the school. Storm landed in what was sometimes the basketball court, and nodded. "Come on, Scott. You need a medical examination and then-"

Scott tensed in Logan's arms, the stink of terror rolling off of him.

"You need me to stick with you, kid?" Logan muttered under his breath, hating how afraid Scott was at that moment. Scott nodded. Logan took his hand. "I'll be there."

And he was. He stayed by Scott's side as Scott let Hank examine him, seemingly reassured by Hank's appearance. He stayed as Scott answered questions from Ororo, as he listened to her rules, and stayed as Scott was shown to the room that had once belonged to him and Jean.

Then Logan muttered something about his own room, and walked off.

He opened the door to his room, half-expecting some student to have set up in there. But it was empty, his abandoned books on the shelves. He tried to put aside his thoughts of Scott, and tell himself that there was nothing for him here, that there was no way he could stay. 

Scott deserved the chance to learn who he was without Logan interfering.

He decided to head to the garage. He opened his door again, just as he heard another door down the corridor open. 

"Stop, Logan," Scott said, and if it hadn't been for his advanced hearing, Logan might have missed the slight shake there, the sign of fear that Scott was working so hard to conceal. 

"You're not in charge of me right now, Scott."

"I want you to stay," Scott stated, and then he approached, walking forwards as Logan held still. Logan heard his footsteps, didn't jerk away when Scott's hand rested on his arm. "But if you aren't staying, I can come with you."

"This is your home, Scottie." Logan snorted. "And it ain't no place for me any more."

"You think this is... for me? Surrounded by half-forgotten memories and the detritus of a life that I can't recall? You're my home, Logan. You stuck by me. You brought me back. And if you're running away, then I'm coming with you."

"You don't get to make that call," Logan argued. He didn't want to fuck up Scott's life again.

"I do." 

And there was Scott in charge, Scott as the commander of the X-Men, but there was also Simon's softness and care in his voice. 

"I get to make that call. I don't want to sleep in my room tonight. I don't want to just be an exhibit for them to stare at, half the person they recall, half a stranger. I want to be with the best man I know. And I choose to be with you."

Logan hesitated for a moment, not sure how to argue in response. Before he could formulate an argument, Scott's hand tangled in his own, guiding him back to his room. "Things have changed," Scott said. "And I can't... I can't tell you if those changes are good or bad. Just that they've happened, and that you... you're the one person that makes things make sense ."

"You have a brain injury," Logan pointed out, his lips curving slightly in a smirk.

"And yet I'm still the smartest person in this room," Scott answered as the door swung closed behind them. Logan shut him up with a kiss before Scott could continue being a cocky asshole.

This time Logan didn't hesitate. He got it, in a way. Knew what it was like to form an identity from the scraps you could grasp, as people tried to snatch it from you. To cling to what was familiar, what felt real. If Scott needed him - well, he got it. And he'd be there. He pulled Scott over to the bed, his hands running down those slender arms, as he looked at his beautiful face.

He missed Simon's eyes. But he knew that wasn't an option they had right now - right now their best chance was to keep his eyes covered with the visor , so that they didn't blow up the school, and work out Scott’s emotions based on other senses. He could hear the way Scott's heartbeat was racing. 

He kissed him again, reaching to ease off his shirt, glad the bruises had faded now. "You know you can stop me, any time."

"You're a good man."

"Yeah, maybe. But you've got fucking laser eyes. I do anything you don't like..." Logan shrugged. "You aren't helpless, okay?"

Scott sighed slightly, looking up at him with a kind of wisdom in his expression. "I know I can stop you if I wanted."

"Thank you. And if... if things change, if something... if you decide you're not comfortable-" Logan muttered, and he knew he was rambling now, couldn't help it.

Scott nodded, and Logan got the feeling Scott was looking him in the eye. "You can stop me too, if you want. Just say."

Logan snorted and shook his head, ruffling Scott's hair. "I ain't scared of you, Slim." And then, as though that was all there was to it, he was easing Scott's shirt off, pressing kisses to the skin he revealed, pulling him close. He arranged them so Scott was on top, so he could get away if he needed to. 

"Want to keep kissing you," Logan muttered. "I’ve wanted this for a while." He grinned, stripping out of his own clothes, moaning as Scott's hands brushed over his hip and then up to his cock. It was easy to kiss Scott, to taste him and smell him and touch him, to see the way sweat beaded on his skin as his breaths became soft gasps. 

Logan wrapped one thick hand around both of them, stroking him slowly, letting Scott rock down against him, more of those beautiful gasps slipping from his lips.

It didn't take long for Scott to climax, and Logan followed shortly after, pulling Scott down to cuddle at his chest, trading lazy kisses as he wiped the two of them off. Scott was still panting a little, but some of the fear that had lingered for so long in his scent had faded , and in its place was happiness.

"That good?"

"It was," Scott agreed, reaching for the blanket and arranging it over both of them. "You were amazing, you know that right?"

"Wasn't nothing special," Logan chuckled, but he could feel the way Scott was moving to cuddle closer to him. He let him snuggle up, rubbing his back. "That help?"

"Yes," Scott answered, earnest as ever. "I don't...remember any more. But I'm sure this is where I should be." He paused, a small frown creasing his forehead. "And you're who I should be with. So I guess you just... have to stay here."

Logan thought about that. Thought about leaving behind his freedom, to help at this school. To work with Scott and argue with him, to teach the young mutants that called this place their home. To find a legacy when he had no past.

He snorted, pressing his face against Scott's hair. "Yeah. I guess I do."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you! If you've enjoyed this please do comment, it means so much.


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